Brett Johnson: US Most Wanted Cybercriminal | Lex Fridman Podcast #272

Brett Johnson was a US Most Wanted cybercriminal, called the Original Internet Godfather by US Secret Service for building the first organized cybercrime community called ShadowCrew, which was the precursor to today’s darknet and darknet markets. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
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EPISODE LINKS:
Brett’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/GOllumfun
Brett’s Website: https://anglerphish.com

PODCAST INFO:
Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8
RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/
Full episodes playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4
Clips playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOeciFP3CBCIEElOJeitOr41

OUTLINE:
0:00 – Introduction
3:15 – Early years
37:32 – Phishing and social engineering
55:36 – SolarWinds cyberattack
1:01:23 – Future social engineering fears
1:04:04 – Early cybercrimes
1:16:38 – Cybercrime entrepreneurship
1:20:06 – ShadowCrew
1:51:10 – Dark web
1:59:56 – ShadowCrew arrested
2:11:55 – Cybercrime
2:17:02 – Love
2:49:06 – Prison
3:17:18 – Life after prison
3:39:06 – Advice for young people
3:40:30 – Hope for the future
3:43:59 – Meaning of life

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Written by Lex Fridman